Newspapers / The Warren Record (Warrenton, … / Feb. 17, 1988, edition 1 / Page 2
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Gltje Darren iRecorii Published Every Wednesday By Record Printing Company P O Box 70 Warrenton. N C 27589 HOWAROF JONES Editor GRACE W JONES President KAY HORNER Feature Editor ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MATTER AT THE POST OFFICE IN WARRENTON. NORTH CAROLINA, UNDER THE LAWS OF CONGRESS Second Class Postage Paid At Warrenton, N C SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Warren and adjoining counties $10.00 Per Year $6 00 Six Months Elsewhere S12 00 Per Year $7 00 Six Months An Unusual Position When members of the Warren County Board of Education and the Warren County Board of Commis sioners sit down together at 6 o'clock tonight in the court room of the Warren County Court House to approve a joint application for critical ly needed school funds, they will find themselves in some what of an unusual situation. Routinely, when Warren seeks state funds, it is able to present itself as something of a pauper county, and the criteria used generally con firms that Warren needs the funds more sorely than its neighbors. Not so tonight, when the application to the Critical School Facility Needs Fund will in all probability be agreed upon. About one-quarter of North Carolina's 100 coun ties?the bottom fourth?are believed strong candidates for about $95 million in state funds earmarked to meet critical school needs. Warren barely meets the require ments to be included in the bottom fourth. In fact, 23 counties rank lower in a scale of wealth compiled by the North Carolina Department of Pub lic Instruction. Surprisingly, when per capita income and per pupil tax base are taken into consideration, Warren ranks ahead of its four neigh boring counties in North Carolina. Warren, with 2,995 stu dents, ranks 79th in per capita income and 59th in per pupil tax base. That puts it ahead of Vance, with a ranking of 59th in per capita income and 89th in per pupil tax base; Frank lin, with a per capita income ranking of 72nd and a stand ing of 72nd in per pupil tax base; Halifax, with a stand ing of 87th in per capita in come and 86th in per pupil tax base; and Northampton, which ranks 99th in per capita income and 66th in per pupil tax base. Ironically, Warren's chances of getting critically needed funds would be en hanced if it were worse off. It is an unusual case of being on the borderline of counties with a good chance of getting severe need funding because it ranks ahead of its neigh bors. from HISTORY'S SCRAPBOOK DATES AND EVENTS FROM YESTERYEARS February 18,1930?First recorded flight of a cow in an airplane. February 19,1807?Former Vice President Aaron Burr, accused of treason, arrested in Alabama trying to flee to Spanish Florida. February 20,1872?Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City opens in a rented house. February 21,1971?Tornado in Mississippi Delta region took 1 lOlives. February 22,1819?Spain cedes East and West Florida to United States. February 23,1903?President Theodore Roosevelt signs agreement to leave Guantanamo and Bahia Honda from Cuba for naval stations. February 24,1836?Painter Winslow Homer, noted for seascapes of New England coast, born Boston. Looking Back Into The Record February 13, 1948 Radio star and band leader Kay Kyser, in a letter to C. A. Tucker, chairman of the Hospital Committee of Warren County, en dorsed the bond issue for the new hospital here and offered assist ance in "this most vital drive." A thief entered the clothing department of the Warren Coun ty Prison Camp last week and stole a suit of clothes and a shirt. Officials believe the culprit to be some person who had been in con finement there before and was familiar with the set-up at the camp. The North Carolina little Sym phony, of the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, has been snowbound in Warrenton since its concert here last Monday. February 15, 1983 Migration stimulated by a decline in agriculture during the past two decades has been listed as the major cause of population loss in Warren County and four other counties bordering Gaston Lake, members of the Warren County Planning Board learned during their meeting last week. Sale of the town's hotel and problems posed by stray dogs, two frequent topics of talk by the Warrenton Town Commissioners, were the rubjects of discussion, but no official action was taken when the board met Monday night. Inadequate lighting in dozens of Warren County classrooms prompted criticism and promises of remedy during a meeting of school officials here this week. February IS, 1978 J. Larry Senter, a Louisburg attorney, has been appointed district court judge for the Ninth Judicial District to fill the vacan cy created following the resigna tion of District Court Judge Lin wood T. Peoples of Henderson. The Warrenton town board ap proved the sale of the town's railroad stock to Walter A. Mar tin during a meeting Friday night. In accordance with Governor Jim Hunt's plan to open school resources fo the public, John Graham library will begin open ing its doors to the John Graham community today from 7-10 p.m. Tha Moon is on* mWkxi ttm#? drtor than tho Gobi Dosort. and tho only floods on tha planat hovo boon onot of molt on hot lava. The Warren County Scene We've all heard the line from "Jack and the Bean Stalk" that begins "Fee, fie, fo, fum...," but "Hawfie" is a new one. Work was suspended recently on this sign on the outskirts of Littleton after the rains came. Those who travel U.S. 158 will no doubt see in coming days that the sign has nothing to do with a fairy tale, but is an advertisement for Hawfield-Corwin Realty of Littleton. (Staff Photo by Dianne T. Rod well) Carolina Commentary Jay Jenkins Editor Is Top Poet By JAY JENKINS One would think that a guy in his early 70s who is a hands-on newspaper editor by day and a poet by night would have little time for extracurricular activi ties. Yet for more than 40 years, Sam Ragan has combined both roles with award-winning results, and still found the time to become this state's leading advocate of the development of the fine arts. In addition to serving as an energizing influence in formal organizations which promote the arts, Ragan has spent much private time offering guidance and quiet encouragement to scores of writers and artists all across North Carolina. For nearly 20 years, he has been editor and publisher of The Pilot, a twice-weekly newspaper in Southern Pines, and before that he was managing and execu tive editor of Raleigh's News and Observer for two decades. He has held top elected positions in na tional as well as state newspaper circles. Ragan was the first Secretary of the Department of Art, Culture and History (now the Depart ment of Cultural Resources) in 1972-73, and in 1982 Gov. Jim Hunt appointed him the state's Poet Laureate. Earlier he was on the founding commission and one of the original trustees of the North Carolina School of the Arts. While carrying a full editorial load, the native of Granville County has been president of the N. C. Literary and Historical Association, member of the ex ecutive board of the N. C. Sym phony Society, the board of the N. C. Museum of History Associates and the N. C. Arts Council. For nine years, he conducted the Writers Workshop at N. C. State University. He has taught at St. Andrews Presbyterian Col lege in Laurinburg and Sandhills College in Southern Pines. He has served as moderator of the N. C. Literary Forum in Raleigh since 1967 and of the N. C. Writers Forum in Charlotte since 1964. Despite his daunting workload, he has continued to write poetry and his latest collection was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1967. His collected poems will be published this spring by St. An drews Press. Methodist College of Fayette ville sponsored an album by Spoken Arts of New York in which Ragan reads his poems. The album has been presented to all libraries in the state and is being distributed nationally by Spoken Arts. A tall fellow with thinning gray hair and addicted to bow ties, Ragan is genial, modest and soft spoken. He disdains hoopla. He seems genuinely surprised each time an honor comes his way, and honors have been coming in bunches lately. To honorary doctorate degrees he had received earlier from Atlantic Christian College in Wilson and Methodist College in Fayetteville, in 1987 he added similar degrees from the Univer sity of N. C. at Chapel Hill and St. Andrews. He also received the first annual R. Hunt Parker Award for achievements in and contributions to literature from the N. C. Literary and Historical Association. This year the N. C. English Teachers Association will present a creative writing award named for Ragan and Louis Rubin, pro fessor at UNC-Chapel Hill. St. An drews and Atlantic Christian col leges present Sam Ragan awards annually. The list goes on, and includes membership in the N. C. Jour nalism Hall of Fame. Most of these awards have been made in formal ceremonies, with a full complement of dignitaries and attendant publicity. Yet the honors and the name of the honoree never appear in The Pilot, Ragan's own newspaper. A subscriber thought he was taking modesty to an extreme, and said so. "Well, I just don't think it's ap propriate," Ragan said, turning again to his 1941 manual type writer and getting on with the day's work. Courthouse Squares IN MY SMALL HOME TOWN I WASN'T EXACTLY * MARRIED " TO MY JOB: THE CITY HIRED ME TO COLLECT MONEY FROM ITS PARKING METER EVERY OTHER MONTH / > Thurietta Brown . . . And, Hopefully, Wiser They don't ask for a lot?merely food to eat, water to drink, a warm place to sleep and a kind word now and then. If these needs are met, they give in return years of love, comfort and understanding. Some grow fat after years of the "good life" and an overdose of caresses, hugs and kisses from those who love them. Others must work for a living and do so in numerous ways, among them service as valued members of hunting teams whose quest is small game. But, some are not so fortunate. They lead lives far worse than those of homeless "street people," and fall victim to death by firearm, poison or motor vehicle. Others suffer torture and disfigurement as they await relief by death?or by the kind gesture of a caring human being. Who are they? "Man's best friend," otherwise known as "the dog." Life for one of Warren County's working dogs, a "fox dog," has not been too pleasant for at least one and one-half weeks, and possibly longer. The animal was spotted on Friday, Feb. 5, fleeing down Eaton Avenue?with a trap on its foot. On Feb. 13, it was seen coursing down Main Street?still shackled by the painful contraption. The dog's predicament became known by persons in the communi ty. Many of them tried to catch the animal to remove the offending trap, but the dog outwitted them all. Although normally trusting of humans, when in pain, pets often fail to respond to offers of assistance. Many kind persons have left food for the animal and because of this the dog is still fleet of foot and able to elude its captors. An interested citizen, after learning of the dog's plight, began call ing area animal societies and veterinarians with one goal in mind: to locate a tranquilizer gun and the appropriate drug so that someone could slow the dog down enough to remove the trap and care for the animal's injuries. Conley Mangum, Warren County's master officer with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, also became interested?both from concern for the animal and because of the involvement of a trap. Ac cording to Mangum, we are in the midst of trap season, when trap pers in search of raccoon and the like set baited contraptions at the edges of fields. There is an on-going battle between trappers and hunters. Many hunters purposely spring the set traps and toss them into the woods. That is against the law, Mangum said. "In many situa tions, trappers help us by controlling the population of beavers and foxes?and the inconveniences these animals can create," he said. The problem is caused by illegal traps: those set without the required identification tag, without the stipulated no-longer-than-eight-inches chain, and without the required written permission. Mangum surveys the county and searches out such traps. Persons who find traps should contact the Wildlife Resources officer, who will check the tag on the trap, contact the owner of the instrument, and verify that the trap per has written permission to use the device. The officer may be reached by calling the toll-free number for the Commission: 1-800-662-7137. But, back to my saga about the poor dog. The special gun and tran quilizing drug have been located. On Monday night, Mangum received from the dog's owner oral permission to attempt the "rescue mis sion," and an assurance that on Tuesday morning, written permis sion, which is required before attempting such a procedure, would be given. All the wheels for the rescue had been set in motion, but guess what? Tuesday a sp^qpg, but empty, trap was found in a field off Eaton Avenue. "Hie dog, which has not been seen since Sunday, is white with brown markings. The trap contained bits of white fur. "A trap will really 'mess up' a dog's foot, but I am 99.9 percent sure this situation has been taken care of," Mangum said. "Dogs have a substance in their saliva that promotes healing." This story has not ended. Hopefully, it will have a happy ending and the dog will be reunited?sadder, but wiser?to its owner. Here and There Howard Jones A Tradition Is Lost A time-honored tradition in Warrenton has come to an end. The fire siren situated atop the Town Hall no longer sounds at 5:30 p. m. on Monday through Saturday, and many merchants have noticed and lamented the loss of the wail that signaled the end of another business day. I regret that the siren is no longer blown because I always felt that it was a fine way to test the alarm, and any malfunction could be corrected before it was needed to summon firemen in an emergen cy. Perhaps dog owners are relieved that the siren no longer sounds, for it was invariably accompanied by the howling of dogs who sud denly joined in a 5:30 p. m. chorus. Just when the practice of sounding the siren each weekday after noon began, I don't know. I do remember its three-minute-long wails which accompanied mock air raids during the Second World War, and I know the 5:30 tradition goes back many years. ? ?? During the late Sixties I attended a meeting of Kerr Lake property owners and representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called by property owners to reduce lake level fluctuation. After the meeting, the colonel who was the district engineer for the Wilmington District of the Corps of Engineers, which had jurisdic tion over Kerr Lake, told me that he also received pressure from some residents who wanted increased fluctuation of the lake water level. They were the Indian artifact hunters, and their searches were fruitful when the lake level was down and the limited wave action of the water was able to expose projectile points. Today, the Indian artifact hunter, who has just about picked over Kerr Lake's 800 miles of shoreline, is taking advantage of the lower ing of Lake Gaston. The water level of that lake was dropped 10 feet in an effort to have ctdd weather kill an exotic weed which is con gesting coves along the lake's 350-mile shoreline. Lake Gaston is scheduled to return to its normal level this spring. In the meantime, arrowhead hunters are having a heyday. One ar tifact collector has on display hundreds of projectile points and scrapers he has found at lowered Lake Gaston, and the crude axes he has found in the last several months number in the dozens. There is a tale circulating among devoted artifact hunters that ac Virginia search party has turned up an undamaged piece of Indian pottery. It takes aNttle more than eight minutes for light frpm the sun to reach eerth.
The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.)
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Feb. 17, 1988, edition 1
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